Materials operable to withstand high energy impacts from various sources such as projectiles and blast compression waves find use in a wide range of applications, including civilian and military structural reinforcement applications. Blast deflection panels, for example, have been used to shield buildings and other structures of interest from potential damage caused by various explosive devices. Moreover, blast resistant construction materials have been incorporated into governmental and military buildings as a result of increased efforts to combat assaults on such structures. The Interagency Security Committee (ISC) of the United States General Services Administration (GSA), for example, has developed criteria to ensure that security considerations, including blast resistances, play an integral part in the planning, design and construction of federal office buildings and modernization projects.
Notwithstanding the importance of such materials in the construction and improvement of existing structures, there exists a need for a stronger, lighter weight, and more cost effective material. Significant disadvantages of current blast resistant materials are the associated high structural weights and thicknesses necessary to achieve acceptable blast resistance ratings. For example, conventional materials used for reinforcement include concrete panels that have been moderately to heavily reinforced with structural backup, such as tubes or channels. As a result of increased weights and thicknesses and the need for heavy structural reinforcements, many blast resistant materials can be difficult to effectively or efficiently incorporate into new or existing structures.